Last year around this time Katie Felland didn’t know much about community supported farming.

But
then she got to know John Ostgarden and Lowell Gordon, owners of
Clinton Falls Farm, a certified organic farm located in Clinton Falls.

As
a Community Supported Agriculture farm, Clinton Falls Farm sells crop
shares to clients who share in the risks and benefits of farming in
exchange for a locally-grown variety of fresh produce and flowers.

“People
are really receptive to local sustainable farming,” Ostgarden said,
“and I believe mentoring a beginning farmer is really important for our
community. I think there’s a real growing interest for beginning
farmers in organic.”

Felland bought into the shares and
volunteered on the farm to learn more. She also enrolled in the Farm
Beginnings Class, sponsored through the Land Stewardship Project which
is led by farmers for those who are starting their own farm for the
first time or returning to farming after leaving the business.

This
year, her farm, “O-Wata-Farm!, will share its organic fresh eggs with
shareholders of Clinton Falls Farm. She will also grow fresh sweet
corn, strawberries and raspberries on her 10-acre farm north of
Owatonna.

— When staff at the Gainey Conference Center heard about a chance to
partner with a local organic farm for fresh produce and flowers, they
jumped at the opportunity.

Executive chef Jason Hudock changes
the center’s menus and entrees daily. When he heard he could get fresh
produce locally from Clinton Falls Farm, a certified organic Community
Supported Agriculture farm, he thought it was the perfect chance to
bring organic foods to the center.

“The opportunity to use
local, organically grown produce is a fantastic opportunity for us, and
our chef has been wanting to build that level of partnership for many,
many years,” said Marlene Levine, director of the Gainey Conference
Center. “It’s certainly a treat for our guests who more and more
appreciate the health benefits of organically grown foods.”

Equally important, Murphy says, is to recast the debate about good food
from a moral battle to an economic one. Take the school lunch program,
which Congress will review this year. Food activists have long argued
that more fruits and vegetables from local producers should be included
to help improve childhood nutrition. But Murphy says the better way to
sell the idea to legislators is as a new economic engine to sustain
small farmers and rural America as a whole. Talk about nutrition and
you get a legislator's attention, he said. "But you get his vote when
you talk about economic development."

Indeed. Even Collin Peterson, thought by many foodies to be a foe of locally-grown food, has hosted conferences in his district since 2007, touting the economic sense of local food systems. His third annual meeting will be held in four different locations across the sprawling Seventh on April 17; video conferencing will tie together those gathered in Bemidji, Crookston, Marshall and Morris.

. . .Workers should be able to
band together with their co-workers to fight for a livable wage, a
respectful work environment, and health care benefits and a pension
plan they can count on in the future. We need a process that allows
workers to have a say in their workplace rather than the employer
controlling the whole process.

March 27, 2009

Rep. Tim Walz, DFL-Minn., might have been privately crowing during the
recent uproar over lavish bonuses for employees of U.S. banking
behemoth AIG. . . .

. . . Here’s what I wrote back
in October, when Walz was in the minority among Democrats by opposing
the biggest of the bailouts, the $700 billion TARP plan:

"Walz
told the Daily News on Monday afternoon that the bill must do more ...
to limit compensation for executives of failing banks and lending
companies."

I double-checked my notes from that interview just
to be sure; Walz said the TARP provisions regulating executive
compensation were "way too nebulous" and cited a "need to stop golden
parachutes" for bank CEOs.

Looks like Walz can justly claim he foresaw this mess before it was made.

We were fortunate to actually get to meet with congressmen Eric Paulson and Tim Walz and Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann. Since he represents southeast Minnesota, members of the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota extended a personal invitation to Congressman Walz to speak at the LAB National Rally/Twin Cities Bicycling Club Weekend on Wheels in Winona July 31 to August 2 in Winona. The added bonus is that he serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and will be on the front lines as the next version of the federal transportation bill is authorized.

We only ask that Congressman Walz leave the spandex bike pants to Jim Oberstar.

With $418,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Education, Saint
Mary’s University plans to assist and mentor K-12 educators in targeted
Minnesota school districts.

The “Teachers Teaching Teachers”
program received a $228,000 grant for professional development for
teachers from the DOE’s Fund for the Improvement of Education Programs
of National Significance, and a grant of $190,000 for technology
upgrades from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education.
Sponsors of the grants included Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), Sen. Amy
Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.).

The
“Teachers Teaching Teachers” project will enhance educators’
professional development through technology, and enable K-12 teachers
from high-need Minnesota school districts to engage in meaningful
collaboration with each other and with content specialists from Saint
Mary’s University, especially in the areas of science, technology,
engineering and math (STEM). . . .

Kind, who represents western Wisconsin, doesn’t endorse all of Obama’s
agriculture-reform proposals but says farm policy must be overhauled in
a larger effort to control the federal deficit. U.S. Rep. Tim Walz,
DFL-Minn., balks at an Obama proposal to eliminate direct payments to
certain farms, and says cutting agricultural subsidies will do little
to rein in the red ink.

“This is the only program in the government that comes in under budget,” Walz said.

Walz -- along with leading U.S. House and Senate lawmakers -- appears
reluctant to revisit debate on the 2008 Farm Bill, which eliminated
some subsidies to megafarms but did little to shift its focus from
subsidizing commodity crops.

In the 2010 federal budget, Obama
has proposed a $250,000-a-year cap on U.S. Department of Agriculture
payments to farmers, a move that Kind supports. Just one farm in
Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District collected more than $250,000 in
USDA subsidies in 2006, while none in Wisconsin’s 3rd District topped
that threshold, according to the Environmental Working Group.

There are 22,163 farms in Minnesota’s 1st District and 29,905 in Wisconsin’s 3rd District, according to USDA statistics.

Walz
has criticized an Obama proposal to eliminate direct payments to farms
with annual sales of $500,000 or more. That approach doesn’t account
for volatile input costs and could even hurt large dairy operations in
Winona County, Walz suggested. Kind backs a different proposal by Rep.
Paul Ryan, R-Wis., which would eliminate all subsidies to farms that
top $250,000 a year in gross income; the current income threshold is
$750,000 a year.

“If you’re an individual that makes $250,000 of profit in a given year, you really shouldn’t be receiving subsidies,” Kind said.

Walz
and Kind’s ag-policy differences may derive from their districts--
southwest and south-central Minnesota farmers depend heavily on corn
and soybean subsidies, while western Wisconsin leans more on dairy and
conservation-reserve payments. Agricultural subsidies are big business
in both areas: Walz’s district ranks 11th out of 435 U.S. House
districts in the total amount of USDA payments from 1995 to 2006, while
Kind’s district ranked 30th.

The Worthington Globe reports that polar explorer and environmentalist Will Steger scheduled to speak at conference on biosciences. The Globe also reports that Steven Burrill, the venture capitalist who will invest $1 billion in Pine Island's Elk Run biotech park, will be speaking at the conference.

March 26, 2009

Congress has voted to set aside more than 2 million acres in nine
states as protected wilderness — from California's Sierra Nevada
mountains to the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia.

The legislation, which opponents, mostly Republicans, called a "land
grab" that would block energy development on vast swaths of federal
land, is on its way to President Barack Obama for his likely signature.

The House passed the bill, 285-140, Wednesday, the final step in a long legislative road that began last year.

Last month I urged you to ask Congress for action on geography
education. A huge "THANK YOU" to everyone who participated! Nearly
6,000 emails went out, and in late February the House introduced a bill
called Teaching Geography is Fundamental (H.R. 1240). Not only does
TGIF have the best acronym on the Hill, it has a strong, bipartisan set
of lead sponsors: Chris Van Hollen (MD), Roy Blunt (MO), Vernon Ehlers
(MI), and Tim Walz (MN). TGIF will provide funding for teacher training
and research in geography, currently the ONLY core subject without a
dedicated source of federal support. Thanks. You guys rock!

We received Walz congressional office press release about a new tool for understanding the Recovery Act--and post the pdf of the guidebook below:

WALZ RELEASES ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT GUIDEBOOK

Document will help citizens understand funding available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congressman Walz released a guidebook to help citizens understand the funding available under The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R.1). The guidebook, which will be posted on Walz’s website (walz.house.gov), explains which types of projects can receive funding under the Recovery Act and provides contact information for the various federal, state and local agencies responsible for distributing the funding.

“Many individuals and local governments are seeking access to important recovery funds during these tough economic times,” said Congressman Walz. “Some funding is being distributed by the State of Minnesota and other funds are available directly from federal government agencies. This guidebook will be a good starting point for folks seeking more information about recovery funds.”

Walz also encouraged individuals to call his Economic Recovery Coordinator, Meredith Salsbery, if they have questions after reviewing the guidebook. Salsbery can be reached in Walz’s Mankato Office at 507-388-2149 or 1-877-TIM-WALZ.

Download a copy of the Walz Recovery Guidebook by clicking on this link Walz ARRA Guide..

Federal stimulus money will pay for repaving of the parking lots at
Interstate 90's Clear Lake and Des Moines rest areas in Jackson County,
according to a list of state projects announced Thursday by the
Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The $320,000 parking lot overlay and rehabilitation of curb and walkway at both rest stops is expected to start in September.

Bridge work in Windom was the next closest state project.

MnDOT earlier announced federal stimulus package projects being
undertaken by local governments, of which one was the replacement of
the Highway 20 bridge over County Ditch 3 a mile and a half west of
Okabena by the Jackson County Highway Department. That project has a
price tag of $378,000 and construction is expected to start right away
this spring.

Just three months into his second term, right wing Republicans have
begun their attacks on Rep. Tim Walz, as demonstrated by Mr. Klinger in
your paper on March 4.

Shame on them.

Rather than come
up with sound solutions for the devastating problems facing our
country, they want to use funny names (like "Porkulus," coined by Rush
Limbaugh) and associations with tired old rhetoric to describe
Democrats (tax and spend).

Sadly, right wing ideologues have made it clear they are rooting for failure that seems to be their only hope.

Mr.
Klinger, Rush Limbaugh and the other right wingers should take a deep
breath and actually think about proposing solutions rather than
partisan slogans.

Thank you to Rep. Tim Walz for standing up
for Main Street rather than for the Wall Street banks. Walz voted to
create jobs in southern Minnesota and he voted against spending
billions on a Wall Street Bank bailout. Clearly, his priorities are to
represent and fight for Southern Minnesota.

The comments that follow the letter are instructive, as the Republican line seems to be that none of the funding in the Recovery Act or Omnibus spending bill is destined for southern Minnesota. For ourselves, we can only hope that, whatever the passion that informs their denial, those Republicans slow down for the safety of the construction workers on Highway 14 (Omnibus funding) and I-90 (Recovery Act), as well as using the rest areas as needed when passing through Jackson County.

Winona and Goodview police will lose state funding in 2009 but hope to
bolster or maintain their forces with grants from a federal program
re-invigorated by the federal stimulus bill.

The departments are
joining thousands of police forces nationwide vying for $1 billion in
the stimulus bill to hire officers through the Community Oriented
Policing, or COPS program. Winona police hope a COPS grant will pay to
replace an officer position they expect to lose next month, while
Goodview police say the grant could fill a longstanding need to expand
patrols in that department.

An ambitious project to identify and seize economic
opportunities in southern Minnesota sought advice Friday from hundreds
of southern Minnesota leaders from the public and private sectors.

Using hand-held voting
devices, 250 participants winnowed six key industries to three:
bioscience, health care and renewable energy. It’s in these areas the
region has the best resources and opportunity to create jobs, they
agreed.

The wider process is called the Southern
Minnesota Regional Competitiveness Project, led by the Southern
Minnesota Initiative Foundation. . . .

. . .Next up was Margaret Anderson Kelliher, speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives and a Mankato native.

“This is not the southern Minnesota of the 1970s,” she said. No one here is looking back, Kelliher said.

After her address, she said the best
economic strategy takes advantage of home-grown entrepreneurs, who are
looking at a range of factors, not just tax breaks.

“Relocation is a bit of the Old World of economic development,” she said.

Both Klobuchar, currently the state’s only
senator, and Rep. Tim Walz touted the recently passed $787 billion
stimulus bill as promoting similar goals.

Walz acknowledged the bill essentially borrows from the future and said he doesn’t like deficit spending.

But doing nothing was a worse option, and the only way out of the recession is creating growth, Walz said.

March 12, 2009

Rochester, Minn. — A real estate developer and a
venture capitalist said today they are joining together to launch a
biobusiness park near Rochester, reportedly costing nearly $1 billion.

The developer,
Tower Investments, and the venture capitalist, Burrill & Co., hope
to move forward with the Elk Run master planned development, which
would feature what they call a BioBusiness Park to launch medical
startup companies.. . .

"They've chosen this because Minnesota had the vision to invest in
things like the University of Minnesota, the Mayo Clinic, and the
Rochester education system, and all the things that have brought growth
to the area before," said Walz.

The development would also include office and warehouse space, retail and residential components.

Walz says to make the project work, more investment in infrastructure
is needed. He says he hopes to find a way to help fund a new highway
interchange at Elk Run.

First District Rep. Tim Walz requested the funding for the projects,
including money for an extension of 55th Street and a new 60-bus garage
facility in Rochester. Also receiving funding is the Hormel Institute
in Austin and the National Child Protection Training Center in Winona.

Officials with Austin's Hormel Institute said they were thrilled with the $323,000 they received.

"The
growth we have achieved -- and the future growth we will continue to
strive for -- depends on the important partnerships we share with our
community and the support we receive from our leaders," he said.
"Progress to improve the health of the world is not possible without
research."

One Minnesota Department of Transportation report had called for the rail project to receive $10 million from the stimulus package. Proponents of the project state that it is “shovel ready” and a economic contributor to the entire region.
The project of upgrading the track is estimated to cost $40 million. This would include allowing 255,000 pound rail cars that could travel 25 mph on the track.

Last month, Minnesota House File 660, authored by Morrow, appropriated $10 million in bond proceeds for a grant to the Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Authority to rehabilitate the track. The track is owned by Carver, Sibley, Renville, Redwood and Yellow Medicine Counties and operated by the Minnesota Prairie Line, a subsidiary of Twin Cities and Western Railroad.

Rep. Buyer discussed a new bipartisan bill he plans to introduce with
Rep. Tim Walz of Minnesota that would provide equity in DIC compensatio
for surviving military widows. The landmark bill would finally provide
equity for military widows, who currently receive 12 percent less in
compensation compared to civilian federal employees.

FarmPolicy.com notes the call by the House Rural Caucus's call for a White House Office of Rural Ploicy. Walz is a leader in the caucus.

March 11, 2009

President Obama today signed what he called an "imperfect" spending
bill to keep the government running even though it contains thousands
of lawmakers' pet projects, but he called for more rigorous review of
future projects, known as earmarks, that are designated by individual
legislators for their states or districts. . . .

. . .Obama called on Congress to enact a series of guidelines that he said
would not eliminate earmarks but would force lawmakers to be more
transparent about them and would crack down on those that benefit
private companies. He said it "should go without saying that an earmark
must never be traded for political favors." The guidelines are aimed at
curbing the number of pet projects in appropriations bills, setting up
a potential battle with lawmakers who have clung to the spending items.

So far as we can tell, Congressman Walz is already operating as if those rules are in place. He publicly releases free lists of the budget requests he is making, as the Sunlight Foundation notes here and the Mankato Free Press reported here. None of the earmarks go to private companies.

A press release from the Walz congressional office:

SIXTEEN LOCAL PROJECTS SIGNED INTO LAW

Walz’s appropriations requests signed into law earlier today as part of the Omnibus Appropriations bill

(Washington, D.C.) – Earlier today, President Obama signed the federal funding of sixteen important local projects into law that will help create and save jobs across southern Minnesota. The funds, which were requested by Congressman Tim Walz are included in the FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill. The bill passed the Senate yesterday.

“Projects like Highway 14 are critically important to southern Minnesota’s economic recovery,” said Walz. “These funds will not only create jobs as we expand the existing highway to four lanes, but it will also create economic opportunity for the majority of southern Minnesota’s businesses, who use Highway 14 to ship their goods.”

“These funds will do more than just create jobs,” continued Walz. “These investment dollars strengthen the fabric of our communities. Lewis and Clark Regional Water System, Bolder Options, the Sherriff’s Youth Program, and Winona State’s National Child Protection Training Center will ensure that our children drink clean water, receive invaluable support from caring adult mentors, and be less likely to fall pray to child predators. Investments like these in the future of our country are priceless.”

The FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill funding at the request of Congressman Walz for the following projects:

$200,000 for Bolder Options

To expand Bolder Options' youth mentorship program into the Rochester area

$713,625 for the Center for Renewable Energy at Minnesota State University, Mankato

This funding would support on-going research into cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel and other renewable forms of energy.

$290,000 for Crop Disease Research at the University of Minnesota

Research into crop diseases that threaten Minnesota's wheat, oat and barley industries.

$235,000 for the Competitive Farm Benchmarking Program at the University of Minnesota

Funding for a project that helps farmers compare their costs of production and maximize their efficiencies of operation.

$323,000 for Hormel Institute in Austin

Funds would help the Hormel Center develop an International Center of Research Technology to provide cutting edge technology to biomedical researchers from across the country and the world.

$2,375,000 Hwy 14 Waseca-Owatonna

Funds would support the four-lane expansion of Highway 14 from Waseca to I-35 at Owatonna.

$475,000 for 55th Street in Rochester

Funds would provide for final design, right-of-way acquisition and first stage construction of a 1.9 mile extension of 55th Street as a 4-lane expressway.

$27,000,000 for Lewis and Clark Regional Water System

Centered in twenty communities in western Minnesota, northern Iowa, and eastern South Dakota, this pipeline provides treated water from the Missouri River to more than 300,000 people in three states.

Several Members of Congress from three states requested this funding. This area is so desperately short of water that there are restrictions on constructing new small business and residences; the pipeline will be essential to the economic viability of these small towns. Many of the communities involved have pre-paid the local share of the project, in order to keep inflationary costs at a minimum, and are only awaiting the federal share.

$700,000 for the National Child Protection Training Center at Winona State University

The Center trains social workers, teachers, and health care professionals to recognize and report signs of child abuse.

$500,000 for the Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota and Iowa

This project will support land acquisition to add acreage to the refuge.

$181,000 for St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Fresh Start Disease Prevention Program

Funds would support the expansion of a chronic disease management program in Wabasha to help participants reduce their risk of heart disease.

$190,000 for St. Mary’s University’s Teacher Mentorship Program

Funds would help expand the university's educator professional development programs by using technology to allow greater outreach to teachers in MN with impact on thousands of students in critical STEM subjects.

$200,000 for Sheriffs Youth Program in Rochester.

Funding would support the expansion of SYP’s services for at-risk youth.

$712,000 for Transit Operations Center in Rochester

Would fund the construction of a new 60-bus garage facility; as well as a new park-and-ride facility in Rochester.

$8,604,000 for Upper Mississippi River Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program

This multi-state project was requested by several Members of Congress. It will provide for the first phases of construction of new 1,200 foot lock chambers at several locks and dams along the Mississippi, implement small-scale navigation aids; and begin ecosystem restoration projects along the Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway.

$951,000 for Veterans Re-Entry Education Program in St. Paul

Funds would help Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and three state agencies create programs to help returning veterans find employment and educational opportunities.

While most of the federal funding for FY2009 was delayed until now, some funding bills did become law before President Bush left office. In the FY2009 bills that became law last year, Walz also secured the following funding:

$2 million for the Minnesota National Guard Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program

$704,000 for the National Guard's Minnesota Army National Guard Armory Emergency Response Generators

$1.3 million for the Minnesota Helicopter Civil Band Radio Communication

March 04, 2009

Washington, D.C. – A dozen Midwest farmers say they got a warm
reception from federal agriculture officials they met with during a
two-day trip to Washington this week. Farmer Tom Nuessmeier of Le
Sueur, Minnesota, says important policies are being shaped by the new
administration, and producers need a seat at the table.

"What we're trying to do is push for pro-active farm policies that help
conservation on working lands and with beginning farmer programs, and
for certain things that help independent livestock producers get fair
prices for their livestock."

Nuessmeier says he was encouraged by discussions he had with members of
his state's Congressional delegation about efforts to preserve and
protect land through initiatives such as the Conservation Stewardship
Program.

"It'll take public dollars and direct the money towards those
operations that are limiting soil loss, using more rotations on their
farm – things that lead to water quality."

He says that's a much better use of taxpayer dollars than direct payments.

He says they also traded ideas on helping family farmers and supporting
rural communities. Nuessmeier says he left with the impression that
farmers have a sympathetic ear in Congress and at the White House.

Groups involved in the trip were the Land Stewardship Project, Iowa
Citizens for Community Improvement and the Missouri Rural Crisis
Center. Those taking part in the talks included Minnesota Congress
members Collin Peterson and Tim Walz, Agriculture Secretary Tom
Vilsack, and various USDA officials.

The Land Stewardship Project has consolidated its Twin Cities offices into one, though the offices in Lewiston and Monticello remain unchanged.

The group will host an open house on Friday, March 6, 4-7:3- p.m. at 821 E 35th Street, Suite 200. From the email invitation:

We hope you will join us in celebrating our move to a new office in South Minneapolis. After several years of maintaining two offices in the metro area, LSP has combined our offices into a central location. The move has helped improve our efficiency and communication while providing better workspace for staff, improved meeting space and more room for volunteers and interns. This move does not affect LSP’s rural offices in Montevideo and Lewiston.

Please stop by our office on Friday, March 6, between 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and enjoy appetizers, beverages, a brief program and good conversation with LSP staff and members. For a map and directions to our office click here. There will also be a small silent auction to help cover moving costs. Please note that our office is on the second floor of the old Powderhorn Park firehouse, and requires climbing a long flight of stairs. We are currently moving forward with retrofitting the office with an elevator.

Please let us know if you can attend by calling us at 612-722-6377 or replying to this e-mail.

Thanks for your support and we hope to see you there.

Later this month, another pro-sustainable farming group, the IATP, will hold a discussion about food. From the invite:

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy invites you to join us for an important conversation about the intersection of food, energy and climate change. From the field to our grocery stores and homes, our food system is a significant source of global warming emissions. Learn how we can redesign our food system to meet food, climate and energy goals.

An important vote in the U - S House means extra funding may be on the
way for projects in our area...Representative Tim Walz announcing the
House approved federal funding today for sixteen projects in southern
Minnesota... Projects that will help keep and create jobs in our
area.Rep. Tim Walz says, "What these things will do is create jobs in
,pthe short term... like what President Obama said last night... we need
to focus on education, jobs, research and health care."Two major
projects in our area include over 700 thousand dollars for the Center
for Renewable Energy at MSU and nearly 2 point 5 million dollars to
support the four - lane expansion of Highway 14 from Waseca to
Owatonna.Mayor Gary Zellmer says, "If we can continue to get little
bits at a time it's always encouraging... it's been a long struggle so
just getting something is really key."The funding is in addition to
dollars already set for these projects through the regular state budget
and the Recovery Bill...The Senate is expected to take action on the
bill this week.

The money for MSUM's project should give more of those young engineering students at last Friday Repower America Town Hall Forum an opportunity to learn more about green energy and jobs. And more for improving Highway 14? Simply a life saver.

The bill also ncludes a provision to block the COLA increase for members. Walz was an original co-sponsor of a separate provision to do so, H.R. 156. Peterson and Kline signed on later. Insert our own snark about Paulsen and Bachmann being for pay raises for themselves buy voting against the omnibus bill and failing to co-sponsor the separate item (H.R. 156).

Walz's congressional office issued a press release about funding in the bill for Southern Minnesota. Other familiar items on the list include funding for the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System, Upper Mississippi River navigation and ecosystem projects, the Child Protection Training Center at Winona State University, flood mitigation in Owatonna and other requests from the lists of earmarks (2007 and 2008) that Walz has published earlier in order to help make the process more tranparent for his constituents.

While some political observers like to kvetch about earmarks in the abstract, Walz's specific requests have largely met with approval in the district press. The Owatonna People's Press pointed out in An Earmark That Makes Sense, an editorial last year about the flood migitation project:

". . .there are times when the projects are worthwhile. The earmark that Mr.
Walz has proposed for Owatonna is one such case. What makes it
important is that it is not a bridge to nowhere, but funds which will
help a community prevent flooding and help residents keep their homes
from being damaged. Keeping people and their property safe from the
ravages of Mother Nature seems a worthwhile goal for the government."

Appropriations requests clear major hurdle, likely to become law in March

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congressman Tim Walz announced that Congress is likely to approve federal funding this week to sixteen important local projects that will help create and save jobs across southern Minnesota.

Walz said the funds are included in the FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill, which is expected to pass the House of Representatives later today. The Senate is expected to take action on the bill in the coming days before sending it to President Obama for his signature.

“Projects like Highway 14 are critically important to southern Minnesota’s economic recovery,” said Walz. “These funds will not only create jobs as we expand the existing highway to four lanes, but it will also create economic opportunity for the majority of southern Minnesota’s businesses, who use Highway 14 to ship their goods.”

The funding in the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill is in addition to dollars already targeted for these projects through the regular state budget and through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was enacted earlier this month.

“These funds will do more than just create jobs,” continued Walz. “These dollars strengthen the fabric of our communities. Because of projects like the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System, Bolder Options, the Sherriff’s Youth Program, and Winona State’s National Child Protection Training Center, our children will drink clean water, receive invaluable support from caring adult mentors, and be less likely to fall pray to child predators. Investments like these in the future of our country are priceless.”

“Finally, these funds support the ongoing investment in renewable energy production, medical research, and education that President Obama called for last night in his address to Congress. The alignment between southern Minnesota’s priorities and the President’s goals could not be more apparent than in this list of projects I requested on behalf of the community leaders and citizens of southern Minnesota,” concluded Walz.

The FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill funding at the request of Congressman Walz for the following projects:

$200,000 for Bolder Options

To expand Bolder Options' youth mentorship program into the Rochester area

$713,625 for the Center for Renewable Energy at Minnesota State University, Mankato

This funding would support on-going research into cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel and other renewable forms of energy.

$290,000 for Crop Disease Research at the University of Minnesota

Research into crop diseases that threaten Minnesota's wheat, oat and barley industries.

$235,000 for the Competitive Farm Benchmarking Program at the University of Minnesota
Funding for a project that helps farmers compare their costs of production and maximize their efficiencies of operation.

$323,000 for Hormel Institute in Austin
Funds would help the Hormel Center develop an International Center of Research Technology to provide cutting edge technology to biomedical researchers from across the country and the world.

$2,375,000 Hwy 14 Waseca-Owatonna

Funds would support the four-lane expansion of Highway 14 from Waseca to I-35 at Owatonna.

$475,000 for 55th Street in Rochester

Funds would provide for final design, right-of-way acquisition and first stage construction of a 1.9 mile extension of 55th Street as a 4-lane expressway.

$27,000,000 for Lewis and Clark Regional Water System
Centered in twenty communities in western Minnesota, northern Iowa, and eastern South Dakota, this pipeline provides treated water from the Missouri River to more than 300,000 people in three states.

Several Members of Congress from three states requested this funding. This area is so desperately short of water that there are restrictions on constructing new small business and residences; the pipeline will be essential to the economic viability of these small towns. Many of the communities involved have pre-paid the local share of the project, in order to keep inflationary costs at a minimum, and are only awaiting the federal share.

$700,000 for the National Child Protection Training Center at Winona State University

The Center trains social workers, teachers, and health care professionals to recognize and report signs of child abuse.

$500,000 for the Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota and Iowa

This project will support land acquisition to add acreage to the refuge.

$181,000 for St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Fresh Start Disease Prevention Program

Funds would support the expansion of a chronic disease management program in Wabasha to help participants reduce their risk of heart disease.

$190,000 for St. Mary’s University’s Teacher Mentorship Program

Funds would help expand the university's educator professional development programs by using technology to allow greater outreach to teachers in MN with impact on thousands of students in critical STEM subjects.

$200,000 for Sheriffs Youth Program in Rochester.

Funding would support the expansion of SYP’s services for at-risk youth.

$712,000 for Transit Operations Center in Rochester

Would fund the construction of a new 60-bus garage facility; as well as a new park-and-ride facility in Rochester.

$8,604,000 for Upper Mississippi River Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program

This multi-state project was requested by several Members of Congress. It will provide for the first phases of construction of new 1,200 foot lock chambers at several locks and dams along the Mississippi, implement small-scale navigation aids; and begin ecosystem restoration projects along the Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway.

$951,000 for Veterans Re-Entry Education Program in St. Paul

Funds would help Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and three state agencies create programs to help returning veterans find employment and educational opportunities.

While most of the federal funding for FY2009 was delayed until now, some funding bills did become law before President Bush left office. In the FY2009 bills that became law last year, Walz also secured the following funding:

$2 million for the Minnesota National Guard Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program

$704,000 for the National Guard's Minnesota Army National Guard Armory Emergency Response Generators

$1.3 million for the Minnesota Helicopter Civil Band Radio Communication
$2.224 million for Minnesota Satellite Multi-Modal Collaborative Crisis and Training Network
$400,000 for flood mitigation in Owatonna, Minnesota

February 22, 2009

Members of Minnesota's congressional delegation have been traveling
around the state to help constituents make sense of the 1,703-page
bill, and in some cases to help tout local companies. Last week, Rep.
Tim Walz, D-Minn., visited the Miller Felpax Corp. in Winona, a maker
of railroad equipment, which could see a bump in business from the
Obama administration's new emphasis on high-speed rail.

We've been looking at some online tools for learning about projects submitted for possible funding under the Recovery Act and will be posting about these web sites later this evening or tomorrow morning.

. . . The Democrat from Mankato
said that cellulosic technology shouldn’t include giant refineries such
as corn ethanol plants but instead include more small operations.

Creating a new clean energy economy was the topic of the forum Friday at Minnesota State University.

Walz and other panelists, including former
congressman Tim Penny, said the financial crisis and the stimulus
package offer an unprecedented opportunity to change the course of the
nation’s economy. “We have to get it right,” Walz said.

Dan Juhl, a wind energy business owner,
said it’s vital to keep the new energy dollars local. Because of
current tax credit laws, some 80 percent of the tax credits aimed at
promoting wind farms goes to overseas conglomerates.

After voting for George W. Bush in both 2000 and 2004, MN-01
swung to the Democratic column by 8% to give Barack Obama a 51% to 47%
victory. That makes Democratic Rep. Tim Walz look less vulnerable than
he did since his upset victory in the 2006 midterms.

The absence of any public discussion of a Republican seeking endorsement for 2010 might also be a factor.

THUMBS UP: The Journal was invaded by suspicious looking masked
characters Friday afternoon. The Narren had once again kidnapped Mayor
Joel Albrecht and were parading him around town, declaring that
everyone was to take the day off and start celebrating Fasching.

We
ignored their directive. After all, if Congress can make no law
abridging freedom of the press, neither can the Narren. Besides, who
would put their picture in the paper if we all took the day off?

We
hope the city will take a sterner stance with the Narren than in the
past. The City Council should refuse to negotiate with kidnappers of
public officials. Whatever ransom the Narren demand for the mayor
should be denied. They've got him, and they can keep him.

In the mean time, happy Fasching and Bock Fest to all.

The Albert Lea Tribune reports People come out to make their voices heard by the state legislature. Doesn't sound like most of the 200 people were too happy with Governor Pawlenty's proposed cuts. Maybe they need a beer, or perhaps the Narren should kidnap Pawlenty.

The Owatonna People's Press reports that the actor who plays the head bad guy in "Gran Torino" attended the local high school before moving to St. Paul. He wasn't typecast.

This evening's hymn is from The National, and is dedicated to all those who ever thought they were being followed by a guy with a talking dog:

Steve Blue is like other CEOs in America today — he’s not inclined to spend until he knows when the hard times will end.

Blue,
CEO of Winona-based Miller Felpax, said Wednesday he had to lay off two
employees in recent months as the company’s sales dropped 18 percent. . . .

. . .Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., toured Miller Felpax, which designs and makes
locomotive parts, and said during a tour Wednesday it could benefit
from tax credits in the new federal stimulus bill that encourage
businesses to make capital investments. Walz touted his support for the
stimulus bill but acknowledged Congress must do more to aid homeowners
facing foreclosure and to address the causes of America’s economic
collapse.

“We need a short-term fix to quit bleeding jobs,” Walz said.

President
Barack Obama and Democratic supporters project the $787 billion
stimulus package will create 3.5 million new jobs nationwide, and 7,800
jobs in the Minnesota First Congressional District that Walz
represents. Opponents of the bill, primarily Congressional Republicans,
have called it a pork-laden spending spree that doesn’t contain enough
of the provisions — like tax cuts — that would have more effectively
stimulated economic growth.

Walz acknowledges the bill isn’t
perfect. He wanted more money to balance state budgets and more
discussion of how to pay for one of the largest economic recovery
packages since the New Deal. Reforms to entitlement programs such as
Medicare and Social Security “need to be talked about” in the coming
months to make the federal budget solvent, Walz said.

During
Wednesday’s tour of Miller Felpax, Walz praised the company as a model
of how small businesses can compete in today’s global economy. For
example, Blue said the company recently sold parts to the Japanese firm
Toshiba to install on locomotives in South Africa.

Representative Tim Walz is predicting the
federal economic stimulus package signed into law by President Barack
Obama this week will have a positive impact on his First District,
including the Winona area.Walz told Winona
Radio News the package will create or protect over 7000 jobs in
southern Minnesota. Walz also said there will be some direct benefits
to families, education and infrastructure in his district.While
Walz forwarded a wish list of $625 million in projects to be funded by
the stimulus package to Governor Tim Pawlenty, Walz said he is not sure
how many will actually get the funding.

Wow — the "Truth Test" season for political ads has begun already? KSTP's Tom Hauser examines
a couple of "thank you" ads from a pharmaceutical-labor-funded group
aimed at Congressmen Erik Paulsen and Tim Walz, who voted for kids'
health insurance. Turns out the valentines are true!

A San Francisco-based venture capitalist who
manages hundreds of millions of dollars in biotech investments has
joined an effort to turn a little-known development in tiny Pine
Island, Minn., into a biotech research powerhouse.

The site is
known as Elk Run, and these days, it isn't much to look at. It's a
fenced stretch of vacant land along Highway 52, about 10 minutes north
of Rochester. . . .

. . .Several legislators say MnDOT is also weighing a $50 million project to improve highway access to the site.

U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, who represents the area, told MPR he met with
developers this week to talk about the highway project, including the
potential for using federal stimulus funds for highway access.

February 17, 2009

Congress is in recess for President's Day week, making this a district work week for Representative Walz. We've just learned that Congressman Walz will be the guest of Winona's Rotary club tomorrow at 12:30 p.m.:

Environment Minnesota is joining with
Congressman Tim Walz and other local environmental groups to host our
Repower America Town Hall Forum at the Minnesota State University
Mankato. We'll focus on green jobs, the federal economic recovery plan,
and our local economy. We’ll discuss how we can fight global warming
while creating a clean energy economy for Minnesota. This includes
efforts to use the federal economic recovery package to fund “ready to
go” clean energy and public transit projects, which will significantly
reduce global warming pollution and create jobs. We will also discuss
other local, state, and federal opportunities to boost clean energy and
fight global warming.

February 14, 2009

Environment Minnesota is joining with Congressman Tim Walz and other local environmental groups to host our Repower America Town Hall Forum at the Minnesota State University Mankato. We'll focus on green jobs, the federal economic recovery plan, and our local economy. We’ll discuss how we can fight global warming while creating a clean energy economy for Minnesota. This includes efforts to use the federal economic recovery package to fund “ready to go” clean energy and public transit projects, which will significantly reduce global warming pollution and create jobs. We will also discuss other local, state, and federal opportunities to boost clean energy and fight global warming.

The final bill invests $32.80 billion for clean energy, $26.86 billion for energy efficiency, and $18.95 billion for green transportation. Environment Minnesota highlighted the following provisions:

* Extending and “recession proofing” the renewable energy incentives, which will prevent 55.8 million tons of global warming pollution per year by the end of the three year extension and create or protect 254,000 jobs in the near term;

* Creating a renewable energy manufacturing tax credit;

* Fully funding the Green Jobs Act at $500 million over 2 years which will train 70,000 workers in renewable energy and energy efficiency job;

* Invest $4.5 billion to upgrade our electricity transmission system to better take advantage of renewable energy and improve efficiency;

* Funding the State Energy Program at $3.1 billion to help citizens and business save energy;

* Providing $3.2 billion in block grants for local government energy efficiency and renewable energy projects;

* Providing $8.4 billion in public transit, which will save 10.3 million barrels of oil and create or preserve 252,000 jobs, with $1.5 billion set aside for expanding capacity and upgrades to existing transit systems;

* Investing $8 billion for new high speed rail projects.
In 2008, the wind energy industry installed enough new power capacity to avoid nearly 44 million tons of global warming pollution and increased U.S. wind industry jobs by 70 percent. Fixing the renewable energy tax incentives was a top priority to keep increasing the development of clean, renewable energy and reducing global warming pollution.
Environment Minnesota also commended the House and Senate leaders who removed billions of dollars in loan guarantees from the final bill that could have been used for nuclear power and liquid coal.
“The clean energy investments we need to protect our environment and start solving global warming will create more jobs and stimulate the economy more than the dirty technologies of the past. We urge the Senate to quickly deliver this final bill to President Obama so America can get on the path to a clean energy economy,” concluded Aurilio.

February 04, 2009

As cities, counties and schools compete for federal stimulus
dollars for new projects, Goodview city officials fear they may lose
out.

The city is already halfway done with a $4.3 million water treatment
project being required by the Minnesota Department of Health. The city
has until July 1 to finish the two treatment plants to bring the city's
levels of radium in its drinking water in line with federal standards.

With construction crews already at work, Goodview City Administrator
Dan Matejka fears the city might get passed over for the federal
dollars.

"If we could have delayed our project one year, I think this would
be a perfect fit for the stimulus package. But we couldn't because of
the deadline we had to meet," he said.

The city had to start construction under an agreement it made with the state of Minnesota; it has already raised its water rates 113 percent.

Congressman Walz isn't happy about the possible exclusion of the project from the stimulus pie:

First District Rep. Tim Walz said it is unfair that some cities
might get money to build treatment plants while Goodview, which has
already started the work and got federal approval, will be left out.

"This makes absolutely no sense and again the folks down in Goodview
aren't building a Christmas tree museum or something. They are trying
to adhere to the law to be able to flush their toilets and have clean
drinking water," the Mankato Democrat said.

At issue is the amount of radium in the city's drinking water.
Radium is a natural component of underground rock and soil that can
work its way in to ground water. Long-term exposure to radium has been
linked to an increased risk of cancer. But just how much radium is too
much?

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
drinking water should contain no more than 5.4 picoCuries per liter of
Radium 226 and Radium 228. But in 1991, the EPA considered changing
those guidelines, nearly quadrupling the maximum contaminant level to
20 pCi/L. Anticipating the change, the Minnesota Department of Health
stopped enforcing the lower levels, said Stew Thornley, health educator
with the department's drinking water program.

But those changes never happened. Instead, the EPA decided to keep
radium levels the same. In 2007, 10 municipal water systems were found
to be in violation -- including Goodview. The city's radium levels were
found to be between 7 to 9 piC/L.

"It's not the kind of thing that would cause any kind of immediate
illness. It's just a long-term concern we want to make sure gets taken
care of," Thornley said.

The small town is definitely placed between its rocks and hard place and it's understandable why the mayor is pissed..

February 03, 2009

Must see TV: We're listening to the Ag committee hearings on regulating credit swaps while putting together our daily digest. Now that the canned statements are given, the witnesses and committee members are conducting a lively debate over the issues. We'll be reviewing the transcripts' this is feisty stuff.

There's an update on B.J. Sprenger, the Sleepy Eye National Guard soldier who was badly burned in Iraq, in the New Ulm Journal. The article notes organizations that help service members and their families. We'd like to see members of congress donating their frequent flyer miles (earned on the taxpayers' dime) to the families of hospitalized military personnel, rather than taking the upgrades to fly first class. Private citizens should consider donating their miles, too.

December 24, 2008

It's Christmas Eve, and we wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas. Reading around the papers today, we're moved by the story of the anonymous donor who gave $1 million to the families left homeless by a fire in a Burnsville apartment complex. This works out to each family getting $17,500; many of those displaced had little to begin with. We read:

A bleak holiday grew a bit brighter this morning for residents who
returned to a fire-ravaged Burnsville apartment complex to receive
their portions of a $1 million anonymous donation.

Each family from Building A, which was destroyed in Monday's blaze,
will receive a check for $17,500, courtesy of the donor, whose only
request was that the Burncliff Apartments residents would receive the
gift in time for Christmas.

We are blessed to have this kind person living among us. There's a less dramatic story unfolding in Waseca, though the benefit to the community will persist for years. In A season of giving, the Waseca County News reports:

Paul and Sue Rosenau hope to touch as many people as possible with
funds from their lottery winnings, but they didn’t expect the
endowments to be Christmas gifts.

That’s just how it worked out, according to Sue Rosenau, because somebody had a better plan than they did.

Since
the day in May when the couple won the largest Powerball jackpot in
Minnesota history, that is how it has been, Paul Rosenau said. They
took home nearly $60 million out of a $180.1 million jackpot and set
out to fulfill the responsibility they believed came to them through
those winnings. And all along the way, they felt someone was guiding
them.

So, over the last two weeks, the Rosenaus were busy delivering news of local endowments.

“It’s
a substantial gift that will be utilized to meet people’s needs,”
Associate Pastor Dan Doering said about the 11 different endowments
made to the Rosenaus’ church home, the church that sustained them when
they lost their granddaughter, Makayla, to Krabbes Disease five years
ago.

The vast majority of the endowments will go to meet the
needs of the community. That the endowments come at Christmas is to
Doering so appropriate because it is the season in the church of God’s
greatest gift.

Funds have been established at Grace Lutheran Church for Grace Garden,
Habitat for Humanity, matching gifts, pastors’ discretionary endowment,
staff development, worship endowment and youth endowment. Other funds
in the planning stage include a fund to offset costs of medical crisis
in Waseca and other communities; a scholarship fund for students
pursuing a church vocation; and a disaster relief fund to offset
recovery costs after a natural disaster. The church purchased the
former Countryside Motors showroom building and parking lot and an
additional lot with a gift of $270,000 from the Rosenaus. Future use of
the building is still undecided.

Other local endowments have
been made through the Waseca Area Foundation to Waseca area law
enforcement, Waseca and Woodville Fire Departments, Waseca Parks and
Trails, Waseca Public Schools, Waseca Medical Facility, Cally Jo Larson
Fund, Barb Penny Fund and Farmamerica.

Waseca School District
Superintendent John Rokke said a $500,000 endowment was made to the
schools: $200,000 for k-12 technology upgrades; $100,000 for
scholarships for students pursuing the medical field; $100,000 for
scholarships for talented and gifted students who don’t otherwise
qualify for scholarships; and $100,000 for the marching band program.
The funds are not for the school budget.

Grace Garden is a day care center; all of these gifts are a wonderful acknowledgment of the comfort the Rosenaus received when their grand-daughter's illness shattered their own world:

They felt alone when Makayla was diagnosed with a disease they knew
nothing about, Paul said, but the community supported them and now they
want to help others in a similar crisis.

With President-elect Barack Obama's selection of
former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as the next agriculture secretary, the
epicenter of agricultural policy is right here in the Midwest.

Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin leads the Senate ag committee and Minnesota
Rep. Collin Peterson holds the same job in the U.S. House. The
threesome have a special opportunity to shape future agricultural
policy and establish new directions that are badly needed. . . .

. . .Vilsack, 58, has a big job ahead.

With Peterson's and Harkin's help, he might be able to push through meaningful and lower subsidy payment limitations.

Vilsack will become only the second Iowan to be ag secretary in
modern times, which is somewhat surprising because Iowa is the No. 1
agricultural state. Henry Wallace served President Franklin Roosevelt
well in the trying days of the Great Depression.

Reform, greater USDA efficiency and stronger oversight will be on his plate.

We wish him well.

President-elect Barack Obama promised change during his successful
campaign. Vilsack is in a strong position in that regards. He should
get plenty of help from Peterson and Harkin, who have consistently been
at the forefront of congressional ag policy debate.

For decades, the government has treated hunger and obesity as unrelated
phenomena. But at a news conference last week in Chicago, Tom Vilsack, President-elect Barack Obama's
choice for agriculture secretary, said he would put "nutrition at the
center of all food assistance programs," a signal that he will get
involved next year when Congress moves to reauthorize nutrition
programs that support school breakfasts and lunches as well as summer
food for children.

"For a long time, we've looked at hunger and obesity separately," said Sen. Tom Harkin(D-Iowa), chairman of the committee that will draft the legislation. "It's not a zero-sum game.". . .

. . .In the 2008 farm bill, Congress allocated $20 million for a pilot
program to explore how to create incentives to purchase fruits,
vegetables or other healthful foods in order to improve the diets of
food stamp recipients and potentially reduce obesity. Several nonprofit
groups and foundations are experimenting with similar incentives.. . .

Read the whole article at the Post. An article in the New York Times' Dining and Wine section takes a foodie approach to the issue in Is a New Food Policy on Obama’s List. It's the more pessimistic report of the two articles today in two of the nation's most important papers.

With the recount of Minnesota's U.S. Senate race still unsettled, it might seem too early to start thinking about candidates for Minnesota's state house and senate. A keen-eyed farmer friend spotted a GOP filing for the state senate seat now held by Sharon Ropes. Good luck to frequent LTE writer, WELS pastor and RPM official Paul Ibisch.

When we last heard from him, Ibisch was urging that people donate to area food shelves by participating in the CP's Holiday Train's stop in LaCrescent. We completely agree with him on that.

. . . It’s said the Lord leaves nothing to chance, so there’s good reason the
angels were sent to a bunch of tired farmhands stuck working the night
shift.

It was poor, tired shepherds who needed to hear the
Christmas promise: “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you glad
tidings of great joy.”

That’s a message for adults.

Adults
who, unlike children, know too much and at the same time know too
little. Disillusioned, weary, fearful of the encroaching darkness.
Buffeted by depression, recession, unemployment; by life, death and
loss.

“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy.”

The Christmas story is truly a story for adults, with meaning for any
of us who have been turned away in time of need, faced the slammed
door, found ourselves humbled. Alone. Afraid.

In every adult
life, there is a time when the Christmas story is, painfully, our
story. The story of those moments when we need, desperately, to hear
glad tidings and remember what then happened next. For there, with the
cobwebs and filth, amid the stink of manure and nighttime chill, was
brought forth the glory of the ages with the eternal promise of “on
earth peace, goodwill toward men.” . . .

December 19, 2008

We'd asked the Land Stewardship Project for its reaction to President-elect Obama's nomination of former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack to head the Department of Agriculture. we just received this statement focused on several policy shifts:

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn---The Land Stewardship Project congratulates former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack on his selection by President-elect Barack Obama as his nominee for U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. We look forward to working with the Secretary once he is approved by the Senate and begins to implement the farm and rural platform of President-elect Obama.

Food and agriculture policy is in need of real reform and new direction. The 2,900 member households of the Land Stewardship Project call on nominee Vilsack to work with LSP and other farm and rural organizations to:

- Fully fund and effectively implement the nationwide Conservation Stewardship Program passed in the 2008 Farm Bill.
- Prevent anticompetitive behavior facing family farmers by banning packer ownership of livestock and ensuring family and independent farmers have fair access to markets, control over their productions decisions, and transparency is prices;
- Encourage sustainable agriculture and local and regional food systems as engines of community economic development and elements of improved public health; and
- Fundamentally reform the nation’s commodity policies, which are excessively expensive and counterproductive to the goals of the care of the land and vital family farms.
- Better target federal resources to support family farmers and small businesses instead of big agribusiness, absentee landlords, and factory farm livestock operations who have disproportionably reaped the benefits of many farm programs.

As President-elect Obama stated at yesterday’s press conference:

“It’s time for a new kind of leadership in Washington ….And it means ensuring that the policies being shaped at the Departments of Agriculture and Interior are designed to serve not big agribusiness or Washington influence-peddlers, but family farmers and the American people.”

In response to the Dec. 1 column by Phil Araoz in opposition to Gov.
Tim Pawlenty's green jobs initiative proposal, there has never been a
more important time to invest in our future.

As we face a
severe economic crisis, solutions that will stimulate the economy and
create jobs will also bring long-term sustainability to our environment
and economy.

Leaders such as Congressman Tim Walz, who realize
that Minnesota is blessed with renewable resources and are pushing for
development, deserve our praise and support. . . .

Read the entire, well-documented rebuttal in the PB's op-ed section. We're betting that a significant sub-set of the 62.5% of voters who voted for Walz in the First agree with the 2006 Gustavus grad, since energy policy was a major discussion during the congressional campaign.

The townsfolk, all bundled up in scarves, blankets and down coats on a
dark night when the temperature was about 15 degrees, were there to see
a 13-car train, facing west. It was lit with the outlines of flashing,
brightly colored Christmas trees, ornaments and snowflakes. There in
the middle was an open freight car where a band played. Santa stopped
by to say hello. Our mayor was there to welcome the train. So was
someone from Rep. Tim Walz's office. And a representative from the
Channel One Food bank accepted a giant check from the Canadian Pacific
Railroad for $2,500.

There were literally thousands of people braving the elements, all
waiting to see what the CP Holiday Train was about and support the
cause, when we pulled in! Mayor Ardell Brede, Cynthia Schaffer from
the Channel One Food Shelf and Rick Howden, representative for
Congressman Tim Walz, were on hand to kick things off on a high note.. . .

We applaud all efforts to make sure no one goes hungry, but also hope that Congress will quickly pass President-elect Obama's plan for putting Americans to work rebuilding infrastructure, updating schools, and other public investments that will--we hope--reduce the need for food shelves.

And so all those waiting for the tide to turn, here's a song from Nova Scotia's own Melanie Doane, who was on the train that came to Rochester:

November 18, 2008

“Until
we see details about an assistance package for the auto industry, we’re
just speculating about what might be included," Walz said. "But I would
be very hesitant about any package that does not include strong
protections for the taxpayers who are being asked to foot the bill.”

The Globe also reports on the first wind-to-battery test project in the United States. In Capturing wind:

Roughly the size of two semi trailers and weighing nearly 80 tons,
groundbreaking wind-to-battery technology was unveiled in the middle of
farm fields northwest of Beaver Creek Monday morning.

The battery,
the first of its kind to be tested in the United States, will help
partners Xcel Energy and Luverne-based Minwind Energy capture and store
power produced by the 11.5-megawatt Minwind Energy wind farm. . . .

. . . Minwind Energy is comprised of 360 local investors who raised the
capital to construct the wind farm. They each have a stake in the
ownership of the turbines. Willers said the group is “very interested”
in what’s going on in regard to energy production.

Minwind
recently completed a two-year test project with Xcel Energy on a
biodiesel peaking plant, in which a 99 percent blend of biofuels was
used to power the wind turbines when Mother Nature didn’t provide
enough wind for them to operate.

“We’re locally owned and we
understand what energy is,” said Willers. “As Minnesotans, we want to
have an understanding of where our energy dollars are going and coming
from. Being an agricultural community, we’re always on the forefront of
environmental issues.” . . .

The 2008 Southern Minnesota Federal Grants Workshop connects local
government and non profit leaders to federal grant opportunities with
the goal of enhancing opportunity and prosperity. Come hear from
experts from federal agencies and local foundations about how to
research grant opportunities, review best practices in grant writing,
and discover current trends in funding priority projects in southern
Minnesota.

November 14, 2008

Congressman Walz visited a class of meddling kids (his favorite kind) on Wednesday, according the Austin version of the Post Bulletin in Students grill their Congressman:

Congressman Tim Walz, who last week was re-elected to the U.S. House
of Representatives for a second term, faced tough questions Wednesday
from some of his biggest critics: students at Grand Meadow High School
who wanted to know what he was going to do to secure their futures.

Walz,
DFL-Mankato, spoke to students about his role in Congress, and about
their own roles in the country's future. Students asked a range of
questions, from where Walz lives when he spends his weeks in
Washington, D.C., to what he plans to do about the national debt,
failing economy and job losses. Many of Walz's responses emphasized the
importance of education.

The version posted under a tamer headline, Students quiz Walz, includes an interesting Q & A session. Our friends who speculate about a potential gubernatorial bid may latch on to this item:

Walz also remained mum on whether he plans to run for governor in 2010.

"Right now I'm focusing on getting through this re-election, so no decision yet," said Walz.

Mostly, Minnesotans can't help but think about last week's election because of the Senate recount. The Mankato Free Press editorial board notes that the Acrimony over Senate race grows. Conclusion:

Voters and average citizens probably thought the
political fighting and acrimony should have ended Nov. 4.
Unfortunately, there appears to be a few more weeks or months of
political nastiness they will have to endure.

“I don’t want to tell people they don’t have a right to
swear — they do. Just not at my party.” — Free Press Publisher Jim
Santori, explaining the reasons behind the decision to shut down the
forum on this Web site.

After a few
days of seeing vote corrections land on the Franken side, Republican
Senate Candidate Norm Coleman received some good news from Cottonwood
County--he gained one vote.

The error was found during a routine
audit of county scanning equipment on Wednesday. Cottonwood County
Auditor Jan Johnson said a voter used a pencil (instead of a pen) and
didn't mark the ballot dark enough.

Consequently, the vote was not read by the scanner. Only two of the county's 28 precincts were tested on Wednesday.

However, Johnson says the public should not expect a major change, once next week's local recount is complete. . . .

Since election night, [Nobles County Auditor Sharon] Balster has had to meet special requests from
both the Coleman and Franken campaigns — including making copies of all
of the tapes from the counting machines, providing information on the
number of absentee ballots mailed out, returned, accepted and rejected.
Both political parties had representatives present at last Friday’s
board of canvass meeting and Monday’s post-election review.

“My list of things to do is enormous,” Balster said.

Newly elected GOP state rep Greg Davids puts his narrow rematch victory over Ken Tschumper into perspective for the Rushford Tri-County Record:

The 2006 margin was so close that it triggered an automatic recount in the state house district. A
Republican friend in the First shared news that Davids has been mentioned as
a potential candidate to run for the congressional seat in 2010, but
we've heard no more about this rumor. Since Davids retains his
seniority in the Minnesota House after sitting out a term, it is likely
that he will garner his share of earned media.

The 2008 GOP congresssional candidate in the First questioned the emergency food shelf aid in the Farm Bill; this may not have been the cycle to challenge such programs. Federal aid to food pantries is not enough to meet the need and is intended to be a supplement to private support. The unfortunate need for emergency food assistance is clear as we read the district's papers.

The Owatonna Peoples Press notes that about ten percent of Steele County's population is getting helping from the food shelf in Boy Scout food drive kicks off this weekend. Steele County residents should give what they can:

On Saturday, Boy Scout troops from all over Steele County will be out
in the county collecting food donations from people’s door steps
beginning at 9:30 a.m. All donated food will be sent to the Steele
County Food Shelf.

Tom Barry, district executive for the Game
Haven Council (which oversees Steele, Dodge and Goodhue counties), said
they are looking for a variety of different foods, including canned
fruits and vegetables, soup, pasta and flour, to name a few.

“We hope that people have their food out by about 9 a.m. this weekend,” Barry said. . . .

. . .If people miss putting out the food for Boy Scouts on Saturday, there
will be two other drop-off sites. They include the Steele County Food
Shelf or at the old Century 21 Building at 1836 Cedar Ave., located
next to Godfather’s Pizza. Both drop-off sites will be open from 10
a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Trom added they are looking for
additional volunteers to help sort food donations at the old Century 21
building and then bring it to the Steele County Food Shelf.

If
people don’t have food to donate, Trom also said monetary donations
help. Because the food shelf is a non-profit, Trom said the
organization is able to pay for more items at a store compared to the
average dollar.